Swords and Cups: The two most important suits of the tarot.

After reading Christiana Gaudet’s blog regarding the suit of swords, I began to think about the suits in the tarot deck, and what effect they have on our daily lives. The major arcana cards tell the story of our journey from that first step off the cliff and into the unknown, to our accomplishments and being on top of the world.

So, where do the other suits fit into our daily lives? I believe that the swords and cups are the two most important suits in the tarot deck that dominate everything we do.

Swords are based on air—thoughts, writings, ideas constantly turning in our heads. They control everything we do and say each day of our lives. They are the basis for our actions. Cups control our emotions—love, happiness, sadness—sometimes overly dramatic responses to situations that we may or may not be able to control.

How do they relate to the wands and pentacles? Simply put, our thoughts and emotions control our passion, creativity, (wands). Our material world, (pentacles), can be made or broken by our thoughts and emotions.

Altogether, the journey of the major arcana is intertwined in a complex web created by the swords, cups, wands, and pentacles of the tarot deck. When we learn to manipulate the swords and cups, the wands and pentacles can work to our advantage.